San Diego was the birthplace of the aircraft carrier. The first one was a converted cargo ship named Langley. A few years later, the Navy built the Ranger, which is called the first "true" carrier because it was the first flattop to be designed from the keel up. The 769-foot Ranger was constructed in Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned on this date -- Feb. 25, 1933, or 80 years ago. Ranger didn't have a control island when it first went into service, but one was added later, and the ship served all the way through World War II. The Ranger operated with a crew of roughly 2,600. Today's carriers -- ships like the Carl Vinson and Ronald Reagan -- typically deploy with about 5,500. Ranger initially operated out of San Diego, and it went on to become the first carrier to conduct cold weather operations off Alaska.